Hood forming apparatus



Sept. 1, 1959 E. M. WHEELER HOOD FORMING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed NOV. 27, 1953 INVENTOR 40 Edward /7 whee/er x l A ATTORNEY Sept. 1, 1959 E. v i. WHEELER HOOD FORMING APPARATUS 5 Shets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 27, 1953 i iiT F 2 M N m d w E m l A 8 Illl v ::Ju: 5 A 8 im 4 m n B u 1 w F\' in. I n V .A m 1L- a A A n m s Q Sept. 1, 1959 72,901,994

E. M. WHEELER HOOD FORMING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 27, 1953 FUN INVENTOR fyward /7. Wheeler B ATTORNEY Sept. 1, 1959 E. M. WHEELER 2,901,994

HOOD FORMING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 27, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR fa'ward /7. Wheeler BY 7.44m; 6. 72%

ATTORN EY p 1959 .9 E. M. WHEELER HOOD FORMING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Nov. 27, 1953 NEWX lNV ENTOR [dwand /1 Wheeler BY *IWJ ATTORNEY United States Patentfifllice Patented Sept. 1, 1959 2,901,994 HOOD FORMING APPARATUS Application November 27, 1953, Serial No. 394,590

9 Claims. (Cl. 113-1) This invention relates to apparatus for making container closures, particularly fragile metal foil closure hoods, such as are used for the hooding or capping of milk bottles and the like.

A primary object of the invention is to make the hoods with a tear tab integral with the lower edge of the hood skirt and folded back into conformed contact with the side and top of the hood, whereby the tab hoods are as readily handled, packaged, manipulated and applied to milk bottles and the like as are hoods without tear tabs.

Tab hoods are desired by dairies, but not exclusively. Regular hoods, or ones without tabs, are needed for application to bottles of milk, for example, where the usual turn and lift procedure of hood removal is effected so that the hood remains intact to serve as a reclosure. On the other hand, tab hoods are desired for application mostly to half pintbottles of milk to serve restaurant and school trades where a reclosure is not needed, but instead the desire is for either rapid and easy removal for glass serving or the ability to form an opening in the top panel of the hood for the insertion of a drinking straw while preventing foreign matter from passing through the opening and contaminating the milk. The tear tab hood produced by this invention fulfills these needs, tearing it in a circumferential direction providing quick and facile removal, while tearing it straight up forms a triangular shaped opening in the top panel and lifts the foil along the tear lines thereby forming a dam or barrier edge around the opening whichefiectively prevents ingress of foreign matter into the milk. The dairy industry has long desired such a tab hood at no increase in cost to satisfy these needs; but previous machine made ones have been entirely unsatisfactory because the tab, by reason of its projecting relation to the hood, introduced handling, feeding and applying difficulties in both hand and automatic machine hooding of the filled containers.

The present invention is predicated upon the conception of precutting the tab in the foil web or strip solely by a shearing action and then folding the tab back over the foil web into the circular area from which a hood is to be made while such area is spaced one feed step away from the hood blanking and forming position, so that at the latter position, a tab hood will be blanked and formed by operation of the same die mechanism as is used to produce non-tab hoods. Designedly, the folded tab will extend inwardly from the edge of the hood blank with the ends of the base of the tab just touching the blanking circle so that no part of the tab will be cut off when the hood blank is cut from the foil web, yet in the formed hood the base ofthe tab will be flush with the lower edge of the hood skirt. I

Accordingly, the invention provides a tab cutting and folding mechanism arranged in spaced relation toa hood forming die to form a bent-back tab in a strip of material onefeed step in advance of the hood forming die. In a further feature of the invention, the tab cutting and folding mechanism is arranged to be deactivated or moved to a non-operative position, at will, so that both tab hoods and regular non-tabhoods may be made by one machine. A still further and important objective of the invention is to provide tab cutting means for cleanly cutting or shearing the tab to a definite point, together with a folding device for bending the tab at the end of the cut back over the foil strip into sub stantially parallel relation to the strip. Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, dependable and automatic press mechanism adapted to make tab hoods of the character above indicated. without contaminating them with minute metallic particles. The invention. also consists in certain new and original features of construction and combination of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed. p

In the accompanying drawings in which are illustrated one or more of various possible embodiments of the several features of the invention: A

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a hood forming machine adapted for the production of tab hoods, the top casing being shown in section;

Fig. 2 is a prespective view of a tab hood;

Fig. 3 is a front elevational view of the feed mechanism;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional plan view on an enlarged scale taken substantially on line IVIV of Fig. l;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, take along the line VV of Fig. 4, and showing the hood blanking and forming die mechanism; I

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line VI-- of Fig. 4; V

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view, partly in elevation, taken generally on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View to an enlarged scale taken on the line VIIIVIII of Fig. 4 and showing the tab forming mechanism;

Fig. 9 is a detail view to an enlarged scale taken on line IX-IX of Fig. 7 and showing the locking detent and spring retainer for the tab die adjusting member;

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic plan viewto substantially full size showingthe progress of the foil strip through the machine and the relation between the hood blanking and forming mechanism and the tab cutting and folding mechanism with respect to each other; I

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary vertical section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line XI -XI of Fig. 10, and showing the tab cutting and folding mechanism;

Fig. 12 is a view similar to Fig. 11, but showing the mechanism in a later stage of its operation;

Fig. 13 is a view similar to Fig. 11, but showing the mechanism in fully operated position;

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 11, showing a modified tab folding device within the tab punch;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the punch and folding device of Fig. 14;

Fig. 16 is a view scimilar to Fig. 14, but showing a further modification, and

Fig. 17 is a plan view of the punch and folding device ofFig. 16. f

The machine illustrated in the drawings is a self-contained unit that is adapted to be used in the bottling room of a dairy for making closure hoods and delivering them for release onto the tops of filled bottles passing to a sealing head where they are sealed on the bottles in a well known fashion. The invention, however, is not limited to this particular type of machine. A

The general organization of the machineis shown in Fig. 1 and it comprises a foil supply station 10 at the rear of the machine, a tab forming station 11, a hood forming station 12, a feed station 13 and a scrap rewind station 14. All of these elements are supported on the upper portion of a transmission housing 15 which is supported on a base 16 having adjustable legs by which the machine can be located properly with respect to the path of bottles moving from a filling station to a sealing station. The transmission housing 15 contains the driving mechanism for a main shaft 17 extending across the housing and journalled in bearings carried by the side walls thereof. This shaft carries an eccentric 18 which cooperates with pitman rod 19 to vertically reciprocate slide platen 21; mounted in guide ways in a supporting bracket 21 that is rigidly bolted to the top of the housing 15. A continuously driven gear 22 is rotatably supported on shaft 17 and is operable to drive the shaft through a one revolution clutch having a control trigger element 23. Continuous rotation is imparted to gear 22 through reduction gearing, as indicated, and an adjustable speed pulley drive including pulleys 24 and 25, the latter being driven by motor 26. The clutch control trigger 23 is mounted on a shaft 27 which extends through the front and the rear walls of the housing 15 and is adapted to be tripped by a solenoid 28 that is connected by means of a lever and link connection 29 to shaft 27 and also to be tripped manually by a finger piece 30 on the front end of the shaft 27. The parts in housing 15 thus far named may be of any appropriate known construction.

At the supply station 10, a coil 31 of strip material is adapted to be supported on an arbor 32. Aluminum foil strip .0035" in thickness or similar impervious strip material may be used. The foil ship from coil 31 is threaded around fixed roller 33 supported on an arm 34 upstanding from one side of an apron plate 35, passes around a tension roller 36 and extends in substantially a straight line between laterally spaced guide rails 37 past the tab die station 11 and the hood die station 12 to pull-through feed rolls at the feed station 13. The tension roller 36 is carried on a swinging arm that is normally tensioned to swing to the right as viewed in Fig. 1 by means of a spring 38. A hold-down roller and cooperating wiper felt, as indicated at 39 are provided at one end of the apron plate 35. The foil is intermittently fed in timed relation to the operation of slide 20 and the die structure associated therewith. The swinging of the arm and its roller 36 provides a cushioned feed of the strip from the supply coil, the arm and roller swinging forwardly at each feed stroke and thereafter retracting so as to impart practically constant rotation to the supply coil, even though the feed is intermittent. A spring pressed friction disc bearing on the end of the foil spool on arbor 32 is adjusted to prevent overrunning of the spool, as is customary.

The feed mechanism (Figs. 1 and 3) includes a lower feed roll 40 which is keyed to shaft 41 journalled in suitable bearings in a supporting bracket 42 which in turn is secured by bracket 43 to the front side of the housing 15. Laterally spaced portions of the feed roll 40 are knurled to prevent foil slippage and the foil is pressed down firmly in contact therewith by a rubber hold-down roll 44 that is carried by shaft 45 journalled in arm portions 46 of a hold-down weight 47 that is pivotally connected to a back shaft 48 rigidly supported in upstanding arm portions 49 of the bracket 42. Feed roll shaft 41 is of reduced diameter at one end (Fig. 3) and has mounted thereon a one-way or overrunning clutch 55, the rotor element of which is pinned to the shaft while the casing portion thereof is keyed to the bracket against rotation by means of set screw 51. This clutch is of well known construction, and serves to permit rotation of the feed roll 40 in a counter-clockwise direct-ion but to prevent its rotation in the clockwise direction, as viewed in Fig. 1. Thereby, any retrograde movement of the foil once it has been advanced by the feed mechanism is prevented. A spring pressed friction disc 52 slidably keyed on one end of shaft 45 bears against adjacent arm portion 46 and the drag pressure is adjusted to prevent overrunning of the hold-down roll 44 with respect to the feed roll.

Feed roll 49 is adapted to be driven by means of gear 53 secured to the outer end of shaft 41 which gear meshes with a drive gear 54 whose hub is secured to the casing 55 of a one-Way or overrunning clutch which is journalled on the outer end of the fixed shaft 48 for rotation with respect thereto. The rotor element of the one-way clutch carries a crank arm 56 by means of which it is adapted to be oscillated to actuate the casing 55 and the gear 54 and thus intermittently drive feed roll 40 in the feed direction. The crank arm 56 is connected by a connecting rod 5'? to crank pin 58 of a crank arm 59 fixed on a stub shaft 60 that is suitably journalled in the side wall of housing 15. The inner end of the shaft 60 carries a sprocket 61 that is connected by chain 62 with sprocket 63 secured on main shaft 17. Timing of the feed with respect to the position of eccentric 18 is controlled by adjusting the crank arm 59 on its shaft 60 while the amount of feed imparted at each stroke is adjustable by shifting crank pin 58 along a radial slot in crank arm 59.

The actuation of the feed roll 40 causes a fixed length of foil to be drawn from the supply roll 31. Subsequent to each feed stroke, the foil strip is operated upon at the tab and hood forming stations 11 and 12, so it is scrap foil which the feed rolls 49-41 engage.

The scrap foil strip leaving the feed rolls is wound into a coil on an arbor 64 that, through a friction coupling 65, is intermittently driven from the main shaft 17 through suitable sprocket and chain connection indicated at 66, the wind-up of the scrap foil occurring only as the operation of the feed rolls 40-41 permits. However, in lieu of winding up the scrap foil, it may be allowed to collect in a suitable receptacle, if desired.

At station 12, there is provided a punch and die structure designed for blanking and forming closure hoods, which structure is of the character forming the subject matter of United States patent to R. M. Wareharn, No. 2,251,433 and dated August 5, 1941. The structure comprises, in general, a lower die assembly 68 and an upper reciprocable punch assembly 70 that is secured to a cap plate 71 integral with and projecting forwardly from the face of the slide platen 20. The die assembly 68 is bolted on the upper side of housing 15 and includes a support or base plate 72' which carries vertical guide posts which slidably cooperate with the punch assembly 70 to maintain it in registration with the die assembly. A die body 73 is secured to the base plate 72 and carries a cutedge die 74 having a central, circular aperture there through which forms a cutting edge surrounding a draw ring 75 which in turn surrounds an upstanding die or ram 76 internally of the die body 73. The draw ring is resiliently supported by spring pressed posts 77, one of which is shown in Fig. 5, and its lower flange slidably engages a reduced stem 78 formed on one of the ram attaching bolts so it cannot rotate about the ram.

The punch assembly 70 includes hollow punch 79 which cooperates with the cutting edge of die 74 to blank the foil strip F interposed therebetween. A clamping plate 80, which also serves as a stripper, surrounds. the punch 79 and is movable therewith, but it is also reciprocable with respect to the punch by virtue of the action of pressure springs 81 (Fig. 5) plate being suspended from a punch holder 82 by bolts 83, one of which is shown in Fig. 7. The punch 79 is carried by the punch holder 82 which is secured to the cap plate 71 and these parts contain a reciprocable knock-out 84 and, within the later, a slidable plunger 85 suspended from a removable plunger holder 86. The plunger 85 may be provided with an embossing surface or die at its lower end, as disclosed in the aforementioned patent; but, in case it is to act upon foil printed for dairy and product identification, it may be provided with a plain bottom face.

In operation, by the co-action of these punch and die elements, the interposed foil strip F is first clamped, then blanked and drawn into a hood H (Figs. 2 and 5) of shallow cup-like form at each downward stroke of the slide 20, and the formed hood is released from the punch by e the-knockout during the upward stroke of the slide, as described more in detail in the patent above referred to. Preferably, the hood remains in the hole in the strip from which the hood blank was cut so that upon the next feed step imparted to the foil by the feed roll 40, the hood is carried along and turns down into the mouth of a chute 87 (Fig. 1). The strip F is normally spaced above the top surface of the die a distance less than the depth of theskirt of the hood to assure the hood movement to the chute. The hoods roll edgewise through-the chute which leads downwardly and laterally from the machine to supply'the hoods to a release at its lower end for application to the tops of passing bottles.

As heretofore described, each hood is to'be made with a tear tab conformed to its outer surface so as tot have handling and applying characteristics identical to: those of hoods without a tab. To this end, mechanism is provided at the tab forming station 11 for cutting and folding back a tab in the foil strip at each operation of the press slide platen 20. This mechanism comprises an L-shaped supporting block '90, as viewed from the side thereof (Fig. 7), accommodated in windows or openings 91 and 92 formed in the slide and bracket 21, respectively. The block where it passes through the bracket 21 seats on supporting ledges 93 and bears against pads 94 formed in the sides of the window 92 of the bracket (see Figs. 6 and 8). The upper side of the horizontal leg of the block 90 is formed with a wide slot, the sides of which are provided with a dovetail or undercut groove 95 in which are received interfitting ribs 96 formed on the sides of a table plate 97. The plate 97 is secured at its rear end by a counter sunk fastener screw 98 on a cross web 99 integrally formed on the bracket 21. By this construction, it will be seen that the block 90 is slidably supported and may be shifted along the line of foil travel either forwardly or backwardly with respect to the hood forming mechanism at station 12. The foil guide rails 37, heretofore mentioned, are adjustably secured to the upper side of the horizontal leg of the block 90, and flat springs having bent down finger portions 37a to overlie the foil'strip'may be mounted on the tops of the rails 37. Since the block is laterally immovable and the rails 37 are adjusted to the width of the foil strip, the strip will be held against shifting laterally.

Means is provided to effect longitudinal shifting of the block 90 and it is designed to permit both fine adjustment of the block relative to the hood die and bodily movement of the block to a non-operative position. Such means may take various-forms, but preferably comprises a push-pull rod 100 rotatably supported near one end at-the under side of the apron plate-35 and screw threaded atits other end in a split clamp nut 101 which is adapted to be clamped onto the rod by means of a clamp screw 102, the ends of which are journalled in the sides of a -U-clip 103 which, in turn, is suitably secured to the under side of the "block 90. The rod 100 is formed with a pair of spaced grooves into which a detent 104 carried by apron plate 35 is adapted to engage, selectively, to hold the rod against axial movement. A spring pressed yoke member 105 embraces the lower side of the rod and normally holds it up with the detent engaged in one of the grooves. The mechanism is'shownin'Fig. 7 in tab forming position and it will be seen that byrotati'ng'the rod .100, fine adjustment of the block 90 relative to the hood die may be effected. Once the adjustment is made, the clampscrew 102 may be tightened to bindth'e clamp nut 101 upon the rod'to keep the adjustment. An additional feature of the construction 'is that it permits the rod toYbe depressed to disengage it from detent 104, the journal mounting of the clamp screw '102 in the clip "I03 permitting-the rod to pivot downwardly, whereby the rod may bemovedendwise-to shift the block 90 to retracted or non-operative position, as shown.- in dotted lines in Fig.

7, the detent 104 engaging the other groove in the rod to hold the block in retracted position. The purpose of the-fineadjustmentand-theshifting of the block between operative andnon-operative positions 'will be hereinafter described.

'Theeupsta-nding portion orlegof block is centrally bored -frorn underneath on -ajra'ther large diameter, as best indicated-iuFig. 4, to provide side arms 106 (Fig. 8) between which-is slidablyreceived 'a punch holder 107. A-tie plate 108-extends across andfis secured, as by screws 109, H to the lower ends of-the arr'ns106. Bolts 11'0 extend 'upwardly through'the tie plate-108, the punch holder 107 and the upper portionsof the block 90 and have reduced and threaded upper ends which are threaded into a cross head 111. Upper springs112 on the-bolts are received in spring bores in the upper part of the block 90 and serve to urge thecrosshead upwardly, the heads of the bolts engaging'the tie plate 108 to limit the upward movement. Lower sets of springs -113--on the bolts 110' act on the punch holder 107 -to--resiliently hold itin raised p'osition-inthe-block 90, thesprings being received inspring bores formed in the holder 107.

Theholder 107 is formed with a passageway 114 therethrough in which is disposed-a'presser plate115 that is carried from the cross head 111 by means of a spacer bolt 116. A stripper-channel or plate 117 having inturned flanges 118'is engaged by the-ends of the plate 115 so as normally to be held in raised position with respect to the lower crosswall1-20 of the holder 107. The cross wall 120 formed with a vertical bore in which is received a hollow punch 121, the shouldered lower end of the-punch fitting in a counterbore and being engaged by the heads 'of a plurality of screws 122 threaded into the wall120 around the periphery of the punch to hold it in position. The punch is of reduced diameter atits upper end and this portion thereof projects upwardly from the top of the'cross wall 120 and is received in abore in the stripper plate 117. The upper end of the-punch is bevelled and forms'at its outer periphery a sharp cutting edge 123 (Fig. 11) for progressively cutting the foil. A tubular die 124, in axial alignment with the punch, is attached at its'upper :end to the crosshead 111 and is downwardly depressible with the crosshead. Die 124 slidably extends down through the block "90'-and the punch holder 107 and has itslower end flush 'with the lower side of the presser plate 115. It is provided with a cutting "edge 125 defining a die mouth into which the punch extends when the crosshead 111 is lowered.

The foil strip F passes through the punch holder in the space between the plate 115 and the stripper 117 and is supported bythe latter out of contact with the tip of-the'punch. With the supporting block'90 in operative position, as shownin Fig. 7, the crosshead 111 is adapted'to be engaged bythe top wall of the window 91 in the slide 20 within a short distance from the bottomof the slide stroke and be depressed during completion of the downward strokeof the slide 20, whereby die l24 zcoopelfates with punch -1-21 to cut a tab in the foil.

Assuming that the crosshead is being depressed by the slide =20,the--die 124 and itheplate 115 move down together,--thereby allowingthest'ripper 117to move down and rest upon the cross "wall :120. The tip of the punch 121 thus engages the underside'o'f'thefoil strip F. Since thefoil' strip is at this time clamped at the hood forming station and is being held in atautcondition by the roller 36 and is engaged between the lateral guides 37, it cannot shift relative to the punch. The die 124 engages the top side of the foil and pushes it down over the punch, the cutting edges of the punch and die cleanly shearing or cutting a tab T in the foil strip. The relative motion E'betwe'enthe punch and die ceases when the ,die

124 engages the top of the stripper 117 with the-foil interposed therebetween. The stripper thus terminates the relative-punch-anddie motion and limits the penetration of the bevelled punch end into the die to less than the height of the bevel of the punch. Afterwards, the punch and its holder 107 move down with the die for the remainder of the downward stroke of the slide and crosshead. Preferably, a half-circle tab is cut in the foil stock. The shearing stops at the instant the relative motion between the punch and die ceases so that the tab is cut to a definite point solely by a clean shearing action which results in formation of the tab without liability of tearing and forming of powder size metallic particles, such as chips and slivers, which could collect and possibly adhere to the foil and contaminate the formed hoods.

As a result of the downward motion of the punch, a tab folding device raises the tab and bends it back over the foil strip. This device comprises an upright folding member or finger 126 (Fig. 11) disposed within the punch at the high side thereof and having a head 127 coincident with the bevelled top of the punch and an undercut wall 128 below the head to enable the head to be projected over the top of a semi-circular supporting block 130 which is positioned in the punch at the low side thereof and held with its curved side against the inner wall of the punch by means of a cross pin 131. The finger 126 is mounted for pivotal or rocking movement relative to the punch by means of a base plate 132 at the underside of the tie plate 108, the finger extending through a clearance bore formed in the tie plate. The base plate 132 is integral with the lower end of the finger and is generally of triangular shape having a long side offset from the vertical axis of the punch near the ends of which clearance holes are formed, as best seen in Figs. and 11. Through these holes, elongated pins 133 extend, the upper ends of the pins having a riveted connection with the tie plate 108. A bar 134 having a knife edge engaging the underside of the base plate 132 along a line intersecting the axes of the pins is mounted on both pins and is pressed upwardly by springs 135 on the pins. A cotter pin 136 or the like retains the spring 135 on its pin 133. To actuate the finger, a vertical screw 137 threads through the base plate 132 and up medially of the curved side of the finger with about half of the diameter of the screw exposed so as to be engaged by the punch. A lock nut 138 is carried by the screw 137 to lock it in adjusted position.

With this construction, during downward movement of the punch after the tab has been cut, as described, the head of the finger is, in effect, caused to extend above the plane of the foil, since the punch, the die and the interposed foil are descending relative to the finger at this time. This results in the head of the member 126 raising the tab T to vertical position, as indicated in Fig. 12, the tab bending at the end of the cut. The upper end of the screw 137 becomes engaged by the punch and further punch motion downwardly causes the finger to pivot or rock to the left, as viewed in Fig. 13, about the upper outer corner of the plate 132, whereby the head 127 of the finger bends or folds the tab back over the foil strip into substantially parallel relation thereto. During the bending of the tab, the block 130, whose top is flush with the top of the stripper 117, supports that portion of the foil strip over which the tab is bent, thereby avoiding any possibility of tearing the foil at the ends of the base of the tab. By reason of the knife edge plate 134, the rocking of the finger is facilitated.

The formation of a hood at the station 12 and of a bent back tab at the station 11 is completed at this time and the slide begins to rise. In consequence, motion of the parts of the tab forming mechanism occurs in reverse order, as the slide travels upwardly so that they are returned from the position seen in Fig. 13 to the position shown in Fig. 11. At this point, the slide breaks contact with the crosshead 111 and continues to rise. In the meantime, at station 12, the punch assembly is mov- 8 ing upwardly with the slide and at a point indicated by the line X in Fig. 7, at which point the hood has been ejected from the hood punch so it can be moved by the strip without interference with the die mechanism, the feed mechanism is actuated to initiate a new operating cycle.

The tab bending device may take various forms, several of which are shown in Figs. 14 and 16, wherein parts corresponding to those of Fig. 11 have the same reference numerals applied thereto. In Figs. 14 and 15, there is provided a hollow post bolted to the tie plate 108. At its upper end, the post pivotally supports a bending member 141 having a central tongue 142 on its underside through which extends a pivot pin 143, the ends of the pin being carried in spaced ears 144 on the post. The inner side face of the member 141 bears against the side face of the block 130 and it is yieldingly held thereagainst by a spring pressed plunger 145 in the post, the sides of which are tapered to a pointed top edge to engage in a notch 146 formed in the lower, inclined side of the tongue 142 and offset outwardly from the pivot axis. The top surface of member 141 is coincident with the bevelled surface of the punch 121. It will be seen that, as the punch is depressed relative to the post 1.40, the member 141 Will be free to pivot to the left as the top of the block 130 moves down past the axis of the pivot pin 143, so that a tab cut by the punch will be folded or bent back upon the foil strip as the punch moves to its lowermost position. The total swing of the member 141 is through a 90 arc, the notch 146 preventing the plunger 145 from becoming disengaged from the tongue 142.

In Figs. 16 and 17, a full diameter block 150 is substituted for the half block 130 and it is slotted on one side to accommodate an L-shaped bending member or finger 151 which is pivotally supported near the end of one leg on a cross pin 152 carried by the block. The other leg of the finger extends generally upwardly and outwardly and terminates inside the top end of the punch bore, so that when it is swung to the left, the inner side of such leg will overlie the top of the left side of the block 150. The underside of the finger is formed with the spaced ears between which is positioned the end of a thimble 153 and pivotally connected thereto by a pin 154. A rod 154a extends down from the thimble through a clearance hole in the tie plate 108 and carries a spring 155 which normally urges the rod in an upward direction. A collar 156 is held on the lower end of the rod by a set screw 157 and is formed with a knife edge 158 which engages the underside of the tie plate. This construction permits the rod to tilt to the right on the knife edge to accommodate the angular motion of the pin 154 during swinging of the finger about its pivot pin 152, since the latter moves down in a straight line when the punch is depressed and the ofiset pin 154 must move to the right. The spring serves to hold the knife edge in contact wtih the plate 108 and to maintain the pivot 154- at a fixed elevation during depression of the punch, thereby assuring proper actuation of the finger to raise and bend back a tab after it has been cut in the foil, as heretofore described in connection with the operation of the structure of Fig. 11.

As pointed out earlier, the folded back tab T is formed in the foil strip at a point spaced one feed step away from or in advance of the hood forming die set. In order that the tab may be cut from material taken from the scrap portion of the strip, the tab forming die mechanism is carried on the supporting block 90 at a point laterally offset from the center line of the strip, as shown in Figs. 4, 6, 8 and 10. This necessitates setting the tab punch 121 in its holder with the bending member therein arranged to bend the tab inwardly towards the center of the hood blank circle, shown by broken line 160 in Fig. 10, which will be cut from the strip after the strip feed step is completed. This makes :aoonosa the baseof thefolded tab perpendicular to =aline-iextending through the i centers of theihood' blank circle and the tab blank circle and disposes the tabitselfwithin the area of thehood blanking 'circleyasindic'ated in-Fig. :10. The lengthof strip advanced? at each :feedstep is indicated-by-theline A'iandlis thesamefor hoods with or without a tab. It-is- :varied only. forthevarious size hoods which may be made by use ofsubstitutehood' die sets in the machine. Therline 'Br-indicates the center-tocenter distance between the tab atthe hood the and the tab at the tab'die. 'Since- A and1B'-'must be equal so that the base of the folded tab wil-l1lie tjustinside in chordal relationship to thehoo'd blanking circle, the fine adjustment afforded by the :rodw100uand -nut '101 is utilized to shift the block 90and thus'bring the axis of'the tab die into required position. B-y' proper adjustment, the result will be that the'baseof the tab on the formed hood will be flush wtih. the lower-edge of the formed hood skirt. Of course, thexhood blanking and forming mechanism operates on two thicknesses "of material where the tabappears, but this has been found to present no difiiculty with the drawing of the blank intoxa formed hood. However, itis desirable to relieve the face of the draw ring 75 slightly opposite the tab and to'do the same with the side of the ram 76 opposite the base of the tab, thereby to reduce the pressure onthebend of the tab so that the possibility of creasing the bend of the tab to the point of severance will be eliminated. The completed hood as best seen in'Fig. 2 has its tab T conformed to the outer hood surface and extends around the upper hood radius and over the top thereof to an extent to be readily visible to users, particularly since its plain underside is exposed against the usually colored exterior of the hood. The tab. is completely out of the Way and thus the tab.hoods have handling and applying characteristics which duplicate those of hoods without tabs, thereby providing .obvious advantages to the users. In case it .is desired to make the hoodswi'thout tabs, it ismerely necessary to shift theblock 90 to its non-operative position by manipulating the shifter rod 100, in which position the crosshead 111 will not be engaged by the operating slide 20. By this provision, the one machine will serve to supply both tab hoods and regular hoods without a tab for application to such runs of bottles as may desirably be hooded with the respective kinds of hoods, as previously pointed out.

In Fig. 2, the triangular shaped opening in the top panel of the hood which results from pulling straight up on the tab to tear the hood is indicated generally by the dotted lines 161.

Although in the foregoing, a preferred embodiment of the invention and certain specific modifications have been described in detail as exemplary of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto, but contemplates all such equivalent combinations, constructions and arrangements of parts as may fall within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the ap pended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine for making closure hoods, the combination of means for feeding a strip of material intermittently, a hood forming mechanism comprising means for punching a circular blank from said strip and means for forming said blank into a hood having a top panel and a peripheral skirt, tab forming mechanism spaced forwardly of said hood forming mechanism and comprising means including a resiliently mounted hollow punch having a bevelled end for cutting a tab in said strip solely by a cutting action and means within said punch for folding or bending said tab back upon said strip into substantially parallel relation to the face thereof which faces said blank punching means, means for mounting said tab forming mechanism in an operating position disposing the base of said tab in chordal relationship to an arc of a circle having its center spaced one ifeed step in advance of the center of'said blankpunching means and of the same radius as that of said blank, 'whereby said tab "extends "inwardly from and has itsbase'on the edge 'of the subsequently punched out blank and is conformed against the outer portions of the skirt and toprpanel 'of the formed hood which it overlies, and means for operating said mechanisms in timed "relation to operation of 'said feed means.

2. The combination as recited in claim 1, wherein said mounting means for said tab forming mechanism comprises a slide block 'supportingly carrying 'said tab form ing mechanism, means supporting said block for move ment along the line of strip travel,- a fixed nut member carried by said block, a manually rotatable rod member parallel to the line of strip travel screw threaded at one end into said nut member and 'rotatably secured adjacent its other end to a fixed part of the machine, 'rotation of said rod member effecting fine adjustmentof said tab forming mechanism into said operating position, and means for releasably clamping said nut member and said rod member to each other after said fine adjustment has been made.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1, further includin'g'm'anually actuated means for rendering said tab forming mechanism operative and inoperative, at will, whereby said machine is adapted to make hoods with and without tabs, selectively.

4. In a machine for making closure hoods, the combination ofmeans for feeding strip material intermittently, tabforr'ning mechanism comprising a resiliently mounted'hollow punch having a bevelled end and an opposed die into which said bevelled end penetrates to cut a tab in said strip upon relative movement of said punch and die toward each other, means associated with said punch forterminating said relative movement and limiting said' 'peheration'to less than the height of said bevel, to stop the tab'cutting' action, -a folding member mounted within said hollow punch for movement in axial and radial directions relatively to said bevelled end thereof, means'f'or effecting said movement of said folding member after termination of said relative punch and die movement for bending or folding said tab back upon said strip into substantially parallel relation thereto, hood forming mechanism spaced from said tab forming mechanism in the direction of strip feed and including a reciprocable punch on the tab side of the strip, a die, a draw ring and a ram with which said reciprocable punch cooperates to cut a circular blank from said strip and form it into a hood having a top panel and a peripheral skirt, means for mounting said tabforming mechanism in an operating position disposing the base of said tab in chordal relationship to an arc of a circle whose center is spaced one feed step in advance of the center of and whose radius is the same as that of said reciprocable punch, whereby said tab extends inwardly from and has its base on the edge of the subsequently punched out blank and is conformed to the outer portions of the skirt and top panel of the formed hood which it overlies, and means for operating said mechanisms and said feed means in timed relation.

5. The combination as defined in claim 4, in which a flat-faced supporting block is secured in said hollow punch alongside said folding member and having its flat face in position to support that portion of the strip back upon which said tab is bent or folded by said folding member.

6. The combination as recited in claim 4, in which said draw ring and said reciprocable punch resiliently cooperate to grip the marginal portion of said blank therebetween and draw the blank over the end of said ram to form said peripheral skirt, the face of said draw ring opposite said tab and the side of said ram opposite the base of the conformed tab being relieved to reduce the pressure imposed on the base of the tab, and means holding said draw ring against rotation to maintain its relief in position opposite said tab.

7. The combination as specified in claim 4, wherein the locus of said tab forming mechanism is laterally offset from the longitudinal center line of the strip material, whereby said tab is produced from scrap material and the length of strip material fed at each feed step is that normally required for the production of plain or nontab hoods.

8. In a machine for making closure hoods, the combination of a hood forming mechanism including a blanking punch and a die for cutting circular blanks from successive lengths of foil-gauge strip material and further having a draw ring and a ram with which said punch cooperates to form said blanks into hoods having a top panel and a peripheral skirt and to leave each hood in the hole in the strip from which its blank was cut, feed rolls arranged to pull said strip past said mechanism and to remove the finished hoods therefrom, means for operating said feed rolls and said punch in timed relation, including a generally upright reciprocable slide by which said punch is supported and actuated, said slide having a window through which the strip passes to said mechanism and to said feed rolls, a tab forming mechanism comprising a supporting block having a passageway for said strip, means slidably supporting said block for shifting in the line of strip travel to and from an operating position in said window, an axially depressible tubular die extending down through said block into said passageway laterally of the center line of the strip and engageable at its upper end with the top of said window as said slide descends, a hollow punch resiliently mounted in said block and having a bevelled upper end upon which said tubular die forces said strip to cut a tab therein, after which they move downwardly a short distance in unison, means surrounding said bevelled punch end for limiting its penetration into said tubular die to less than the height of said bevel, a pivotally mounted folding member in said hollow punch at a fixed elevation for rocking toward the low side of said bevelled end,

means for rocking said folding member responsively to said unitary punch and die movement for bending or folding said tab back upon the upper side of said strip into substantially parallel relation thereto, screw means connected to said block and to a fixed part of the machine for adjusting the position of said tab forming mechanism in said operating position to place the base of said tab in chordal relationship to an arc of a circle whose center is spaced one feed step in advance of the center of and whose radius is the same as that of said blanking punch, whereby the tab extends inwardly from and has its base on the edge of the subsequently cut out blank and is conformed against the outer portions of the skirt and top panel of the formed hood which it overlies, and means including said screw means for bodily shifting said tab forming mechanism into and out of said operating position, at will, whereby said machine is adapted to make hoods with and without tabs, selectively.

9. A machine as defined in claim 8, in which said lastnamed means is an axially movable push-pull rod which is threaded at one end into a pivot mounted nut carried by the underside of said block, extends longitudinally therefrom under the line of strip travel and is releasably connected adjacent its other end to said fixed part of the machine through a detent that is selectively engageable with either one of two spaced grooves formed on said rod, and a spring pressed cap embracing said rod opposite said detent to permit disengagement of the rod from said detent by radial pressure of the rod on said cap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,039,643 Brown Sept. 24, 1912 1,039,661 Dorman Sept. 24, 1912 2,016,052 Roeder Oct. 1, 1935 2,096,346 Sharp Oct. 19, 1937 2,166,501 MacCordy July 18, 1939 2,544,969 Underwood Mar. 13, 1951 2,614,515 Wheeler Oct. 21, 1952 

